Fair use plays a crucial role as copyright’s safety valve for free expression because it permits unauthorized copying in service of the public good. This role, which enables everything from scathing reviews of artwork to wholesale digitization of books for accessibility, is taking on new currency as librarians scramble to preserve contested government information online. From deleted climate data, disappearing government web pages, and ephemeral political tweets, fair use cuts through the legal confusion so we can maintain the historical and scientific record. This webinar will introduce fair use as an equitable doctrine designed to support librarianship and prepare participants to apply fair use in their own communities’ work.

Learning outcomes:

Understand the fundamentals of fair use as an equitable doctrine that permits use of copyrighted materials for the public good.

Understand the copyright issues surrounding government information and the effects of sharing materials posted on different platforms such as .gov sites and social media platforms like Twitter.

Apply fair use in their own practice preserving and sharing digital government documents in their own communities.

Presenters: William M. Cross is the Director of the Copyright and Digital Scholarship Center in the North Carolina State University Libraries. He speaks and writes nationally on copyright, scholarly communication, and open culture. He is also a presenter for the ACRL workshop and a presenter for the ACRL workshop, Scholarly Communication: From Understanding to Engagement. Read more about Will in his ACRL member of the week profile.

Lillian Rigling is a North Carolina State University Libraries Fellow, working in the Copyright & Digital Scholarship Center and the User Experience Department. She coordinates outreach, instruction, and engagement around issues of author’s rights, copyright, and open culture at NCSU for students and faculty. Previously, she worked as a Graduate Assistant in the Scholarly Communications and Copyright Office at the University of Toronto.

How to register:
Submit your free registration online by February 17, 2017. Login details will be sent via email the afternoon of February 17. The webcast will be recorded and made available shortly after the live event.